Gradual Improvement

Today I realized that I can already see improvements in my Japanese. I can do things that I couldn`t do before. For example, last night when I went shopping with okaasan, I was able to tell her about the trouble I had at the airport because I didn`t have her address. I was able to explain that that was why I was so late, and tell her how glad I was to have another one of the interns with me. This morning I was able to explain to otousan that we had so much pudding because okaasan bought any one that she thought I should try. I wasn`t being decisive,　so she just bought all of them and would not take no for an answer. It made him laugh.

I also feel more comfortable with normal everyday conversation. As I get to know the people around me better, I don`t have to worry so much about what I say. As a result, I am able to use more of the grammar I have learned. When I first arrived, I spoke in very simple, short sentences. I rarely spoke unless someone else spoke to me first. Now I am starting to initiate conversations, although I still don`t feel quite as comfortable doing that.

A funny side-note: I think that the Kansai ben (Kansai dialect) around me is starting to influence my language. I never had any problem understanding it, unless people spoke really fast, but now there are a few phrases that I find myself thinking. For example, seya na. This is a slurred version of sou da yo ne. Everyone thinks that my language is pretty because I speak Tokyo dialect, so they would scold me if I ever said anything in Kansai ben. They even refer to their own dialect as the dirty dialect. I think it is kind of fun to listen to. It is definitely distinctive. The two main differences I have noticed are negative conjugations and replacing da with ya. Normal negative conjugations have the suffix -nai or -masen. Here most of the negative conjugations have the suffix -hen. So, instead of tabenai or tabemasen (to eat), they would say tabehen. Desu or da is often replaced with ya. For example, nan da would become nan ya. Also desyou often becomes yarou. Okaasan and Otousan are usually careful about not using Kansai ben when they talk to me, but if we are having a longer conversation, they gradually slip into it. Otousan doesn`t use it as much in normal conversation because he went to school in Tokyo, so he lost some of his accent. Okaasan says he has `hen na nihongo` (weird Japanese) because he doesn`t stick to one dialect, but he just says that he is not the one who is weird.

It is exciting for me to realize that I am gradually able to understand more and do more on my own. It hasn`t even been a week yet! I can`t wait to see how much I improve over the course of the next 12 weeks.

I think one of the hardest things for me has been trying to limit the input I receive. That might sound a little strange, but at BYU I was used to absorbing all of the limited input I got. I can`t do that here. If I try to pay attention to everything, I feel like my brain will explode. For example, the second day here, I went on a 30 minute car ride. I was trying to talk in Japanese with okaasan while trying to read all of the signs, many of which were in kanji. Result: headache. Now I am doing a little better. I can take in a lot of material, but I also take time to sit back and take a break. I should mention though - English is starting to sound weird to me when I hear the other interns speaking it. They speak English together all the time, but I don`t have that luxury. When we are together I switch back to English (mostly), but it always takes a few minutes. I guess it is a good thing I am teaching English classes every day, or I might come back with really weird English.